I have to admit that I'm not making use of Steal all that much. I've never really understood using any F keys, since they're way out of reach (I find 6 to 0 incredibly annoying as well and I simply cannot grasp the philosophy behind these, ever since I started playing Ragnarok online), so I basically constantly keep forgetting.

So how profitable is it and do you target specific mobs?

Stealing is profitable in nearly all situations since you can sit on the stolen item while steal recharges

The only time stealing doesn't work out is on destroyers since you steal lava rocks from them. Tha said their steal table also includes throw gunk and consume ectoplasm

Example of a good steal to sit on is axe in pvp. Fighting a warrior or ranger (who you steal it from) you can save the axe for a kill move or to use instead of finishing them (you evade during it do you can't be dazed by a downed ranger. It deals a lot of damage while evading

Use skull is a good one too to interrupt finishers on allies

One more trick: you can steal while stunned so you can use it to shadow step away from say, a warrior about to 100b you by stealing his ally

Oh, well I like the Ranger / Elementalist one which cures Conditions/grants Regeneration. It's an allied buff too.

I assume you mean healing seed. I've thought about adding that to the op but I haven't been too impressed by it not that it's bad by any stretch of the imagination I just don't see more than area heal and water combos for point defense

It's a little too straight forward while being a really rare steal (throw tuft/feathers and gunk are all there mostly due to being common)

I only really use it as a shadowstep, except against warriors because the whirlwind is OP... steal axe to whirlwind, 3x death blossom and lay down shadow refuge + dagger storm = MANY DEAD + BLEEDING THINGS AND NOT DEAD YOU. If that doesnt kill them another 3 death blossoms (which will be up by then if you have the ini from heal trait due to shadow refuge) and you're laughing. It doesn't work against more then 2 people ofc due to the way finishers work (you will die before you finish them off, and if any of them die too long from the others he will get ressed) but as a 1v2 strat it is golden.

"English doesn't so much borrow words from other languages as follows them into a dark alley, hits them over the head and goes through their pockets for loose vocabulary."

I have to admit that I'm not making use of Steal all that much. I've never really understood using any F keys, since they're way out of reach (I find 6 to 0 incredibly annoying as well and I simply cannot grasp the philosophy behind these, ever since I started playing Ragnarok online), so I basically constantly keep forgetting.

So how profitable is it and do you target specific mobs?

Depending on your traits, Steal can buff your group 3 different boons, stealth you, blind your target and give your 3 initiative back on top of being a shadowstep right to your target.

its not random to the point where its unpredictable. each enemy has a small pool of possible steals

some steals can bite you in the ass if you blindly use them, like rifle shot, skull, and any others with 1s cast times

I've used those, and they actually have yet to bite me in the ass. I don't really care to memorize what I'm likely to get from everybody, and so far I've yet to find something that's just plain useless.

F1: Steal Armor: (Applies Several stacks of vulnerability to the target, applies 10 seconds of protection to self) This helps with our survivability, and enables us to weaken a single target, making them more vulnerable to our attacks. Which is what the thief is all about.

F2: Steal Weapon: (Dazes the target for 2 seconds, Applies Might or Fury to self and grants a class specific item just like current
steal) This allows us to have a bit of a control option, lets us still have that random item.

F3: Shadow Recluse: ( Enters stealth for 10 seconds when not in combat, 3 when in combat) This would help give the advantage of surprise when out of combat, but ensure that it wasn’t too powerful during combat. Allows positioning, and a great gap closer without the target just waiting for you to shadowstep to put you in the ground.

F4: Shadowstep: (Shadowsteps to Target) Shadowstep would be removed from steal, and would be its own class mechanic, so that it wasn’t clustered all onto one skill, giving it it’s own individuality, and making you decide when and how to use it, pairing with a steal independently as it suits the situation.

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If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and character are one and the same.